Guitar solos and why less with more of it is usually more (and/or less).

I love a good guitar solo.

I LOVE IT!

Probably my favourite solo is Dimebags in Panteras A New Level.
It builds from a half time break down to a blisteringly fast and aggressive tremolo picked, wah closed crescendo.
It's fairly short too but all the better for it.
It doesn't sound like he's just running scales or exercises, it's brutal.

Some bands see the guitar solo as something that needs to go in after the 2nd chorus, almost as a necessity or convention.
Watch Some Kind of Monster (Metallicas making of St. Anger movie) and look at Kirk Hammets face when James says he thinks they shouldn't have guitar solos. Priceless.

Bands like Dream Theatre have a wealth of musical knowledge, all studied up from university and they craft their solos based on theory and technique.  Each member is so musically learn'ed they come across as being more composed than just a 6 bar whammy freak out.
Take the solo in Lie from about 3:30 on wards.
Starts off with some nice bends and some dirty sounds then it just becomes runs up and down the neck with a few bends.  Very fast, very accurate, very scaley.
True it's technically very very good, John Petrucci is a phenomenally gifted guitarist, but where's the soul?

Right, polar opposite time.

Live - Run to the Water.  Live are an amazing band.  The solo in Run to the Water kicks in at 2:50 and it's a feel solo.
More impactful than Dream Theatres Lie one.  No where near as technical or notey, it does what it has to and says what it needs to say very very well.
The sound of the guitar is warm and wah'y.
Lovely tone.  It sing's "this is part of the song" as opposed to screams "LOOK AT ME!".

Maybe Chris Thorn from Live can't play as technically as John Petrucci, he doesn't need to here.
Neither of them are as well known as Brian May or David Gilmour.
I love Brian May, arguably one of the finest guitarists of all time.  Not because he's the fastest or most technically sound.  
No, he felt every fucking note he played.  He played a guitar made out of a mantel piece with a sixpence.
Gilmour is the master of the Strat.  No question.  He played/ plays blues lines better than any one in my opinion.  Although Eric Johnston is a close second on the Strat.

CG Brian May with the required stance

Just because a guitarist doesn't play fast all the time, doesn't mean he can't.  Being able to pull it way back and do something that isn't 360 notes per second is something that should be learned.

When metal/ rock guitarists/ bassists start to learn, they get into Joe Satriani, Via, Flea, Claypool, Metallica (at least they did when I were a nipper).
I got handed the music for Cliff Burtons Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) about 2 months after 1st picking up a bass.
I didn't know what to do.
So I learned it pigeon fashion, note for note.  No idea why I was hitting those fret numbers, just that I had to.
I played it a lot in the first bands I was in (very badly if memory serves).
All I knew was I had to play fast to be considered good.
Not the case.
The older I got the less notes I played.  Until I was goaded into it or some smart ass tried to out do me :) (Didn't always work, there are waaaaaaaay to many uber-talented people out there).
And sometimes it's best to know when to say when.

Anyway, I digress.

I remember watching a live concert years ago where Clapton came on stage with some young upstart who was technically very gifted but didn't "get" melody yet.  Clapton did his thing, one note saying a thousand words etc, then hit a lick Petrucci would kill for just as if to say "up yours young un, you're good but I'm the king up here".  It was good to see.
I think he did it just to prove that he's not just big bends and pentatonics.  There's still fire there.

I listen to some newer music and the guitar solos just are runs up the neck as fast as possible.  No feelz!

oh look DragonForce.....and walk away.....

If you want to listen to some real guitar talent, I'd advise listening to someone like Guthrie Govan or Devon Townsend.  Look up their videos, these guys have a tonne of stuff on Youtube talking about their music.
Govan just seems like the most chilled hippy ever.  Bit of jazz, bit of rock, bit of blues then POW ridiculous solo break. 
He's like the Bob Ross of guitar.

Bob Ross                     Guthrie Govan

Govan, has studied theory, he has paid his dues, that's why he's so good.

I do like a bit of shred though.

I don't like Kiss.

Anyway, my point is I love guitar solos.  Good guitar solos.  Fast ones with brutality, slow ones with feeling.  Loud ones with screaming, quiet ones with delay.

I don't like sterile 32nd note scale runs.  Getting to from note A to B as quickly as possible is not the point.  It's getting from A to BOOM! via "holy Christ did you hear that" having a quick stop off at "I like what you did there" while "how does he get that sound" in the passenger seat.

Also, if you can pick up "FEELINGS!!!" on the way that would be great.

David Gilmour (Master of the Strat)

I managed to get through a whole guitar solo blog without mentioning Zak Wylde.

SHIT!

BE TOLD!!!!